Weather Alert Day: Severe storms likely this afternoon into tonight
Watch live coverage of storms in the player below.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE:
Storms are starting to fire up along the cold front in western Missouri, and will quickly become severe as they move east into Mid-Missouri. A Tornado Watch has been issued for the entire area until 10PM.
Watch a 3 p.m. update from the weather team in the player below.
OUR SETUP
A warm front to our north has primed the area for severe weather as dew points have climbed into the upper 60s and temperatures have surged into the 70s. Storms will continue to fire up along the cold front to our west and quickly become severe, bringing the threat of tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds through sunset this evening.
TIMING
Storms have developed across far western Missouri and will impact Mid-Missouri from west to east between about 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
THREATS
All modes of severe weather will be on the table. Large hail, damaging winds, a few tornadoes and flash flooding will all be possible. Rainfall amounts will be in the 1-2" range for most of us but some localized areas north of I-70 could see up to 4+".
WHAT COULD HELP US
If storms don't make it all the way to the Missouri/Iowa border Sunday morning and stall out in Mid-Missouri, that would squash a lot of the severe threat. With the rain continuing to fall for longer, we wouldn't have enough time to add fuel to those afternoon storms. That would ramp up our flooding concerns, however, if this ends up being the case.
FUTURETRACK
Severe storms on Sunday will bring the potential for 70-80 mph winds, up to golf ball sized hail, and a few strong tornadoes. Make sure you know your safe place to take shelter as storms move into your area.
HOW TO PREPARE
Download the ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather App to stay ahead of the strong storms this weekend. You can stream any newscast or severe weather cutin directly on your phone!